Vegetable and fruit eye remover



March 8, 1949. J. T. WHITE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT EYE REMOVER Filed March 15, 1948 Patented Mar. 8, 1949 UNITED STATES OFFICE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT EYE REMOVER White, Palmyra, Mo.

Application March 15, 1948, Serial No. 14,965

Claims. 1

This invention comprises novel and useful improvements in vegetable and fruit eye removers and more specifically pertains to a kitchen utensil for cutting the eyes out of potatoes and the like.

The principal object of this invention resides in the provision of a kitchen utensil for easily and quickly removing the eyes from potatoes, vegetables and fruit. An important feature of the invention is the provision of an eye remover having a rotating shaft with cutter blades thereon, together with an improved operating means for rotating the shaft.

A further feature of the invention consists in providing a utensil as set forth in the preceding paragraphs, a reciprocating rack bar for rotating the shaft carrying the cutter blades, together with a segmental gear for reciprocating the rack bar.

And a final important feature of the invention to be specifically enumerated herein, resides in the provision of a utensil wherein the cutter blade shaft is mounted therein in a novel and improved manner, wherein the reciprocating rack is housed and guided within the body of the utensil, wherein there is provided a convenient means for manipulating the segmental gear and rack bar by one hand of the user, and wherein there is provided a light weight and inexpensive article, yet one which is highly satisfactory for the purpose intended.

These, together with various ancillary features and objects of the invention which will later become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this device, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated by way of example only in the accompanying drawings, wherein;

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, parts being broken away along the central line of the invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevational View taken from the left of Figure 1;

igure 3 is a top plan view of the invention shown in Figure 1; and,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary, vertical transverse sectional detail view taken substantially on the plane of the sectional line l l of Figure 3 and showing the upper end of the cutter blade shaft and the gear for operating same.

Referring now more specifically to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, the numeral ill designates generally the entire utensil forming the subject matter of this iniii) vention, which as will be readily seen by reference to Figures 2 and 3, consists of a body joined along its central vertical longitudinal plane and comprises a pair of complemental casing members I2 and i4. Obviously, the body portion is formed of any suitable material, such as sheet metal or the like, and as shown, the body casing members are joined together by juxtaposed flanges I6 secured by rivets 18 or the like. Integrally formed upon the casing members l2 and [4 are rearward extensions constituting in their entirety a stationary or fixed handle member 20, which at its outer end is provided with a hooked portion 22 constituting a bottle opener for removing caps from bottles.

The casing member l2, as shown clearly in Figure 4, is laterally recessed to provide a U- shaped channel 2 constituting a guide channel which extends into a chamber 26 having an opening 28 at its rear end, for a purpose later to be set forth. Guiclingly and slidably received in the channel 2 3 is a rack bar 30 having a plurality of teeth 32 extending throughout its length, which teeth constantly are engaged with an operating and a driven means as set forth hereinafter.

A segmental gear st of any suitable construction is journaled as at 36 within the chamber 26 of the casing members [2 and I4, and is provided upon its arcuate extremit with a plurality of teeth 58 which are continuously enmeshed with and operate the rack teeth 32 of the rack bar 31') for reciprocating the rack bar.

Extending integrally from the segmental gear 34, is a handle ill which as shown is preferably U-shaped in cross section, and extends through the open end 28 of the casing 25, to underlie and terminate substantially adjacent the end of the fixed handle 28. A spring member such, for example, as the leaf spring ll, is securely supported upon the lower portion of the handle 20, and at its lower nd is curved or flexed as at 44 for resilient abutment against the inner surface of the channel-shaped handle 40, for yieldingly urging the movable handle 40 away from the stationary handle 20, and by means of the engaging gear teeth 38 and 32, urging the rack into its retracted position, shown in Figure 1, from whence it may be reciprocatingly extended by clamping the two handle members together against the resistance of the spring 41, thereby rotating th segmental gear 34.

As will be clearly apparent from Figure 1, the body portion of the utensil is provided with a bifurcated end forming upper and lower jaws or arms indicated at 46 and 48. As will be more clearly apparent from the detailed view of Figure 4, th casing member [4 is provided with laterally extending lugs which are apertured for journaling therein a. cutter. blade shaft. 52. This shaft hase fixedly secured thereto a driven gear 5d, received between the lugs 50, which gear continuously enmeshes with the teeth of the racl-s bar 30. It will thus be seen that when the rack bar is reciprocated, the shaft '52will' be rotated. Adjacent its lower end, the shafit.52, which. extends across both of the arms;- and' l'8, leprovided with a pair of spaceddntegra'l annularrcoilars 56 by means of which theshaftis' positioned and held against longitudinalmovement inthe journal bearings in the lugs 50, and also in a journal portion 58 on the end-ofthe-lowerarm.

#18, which journal portion is provided with a removable closure cap or bearing cap 60.

Upon its two extremities, the shaft 52 has removably secured but non-rotatably fixed thereon a pair of cutter blades 62" and 64 respectively. Each of these blades consists of a spoon-shaped member, having sharpened edges and tapered to a point at its outward extremity; the member 62 beingshaped. to penetrate a. potato or the like adjacent the eye thereof, whereby when the :shaft.

Itisnoted that. adjacentthe opening 28, the r casing. member Mis provided with an outwardly extending lip: 11: constituting an abutment .for limiting. the downward. movement of. the handle 40, when. the device is in operative position.

F'rom the foregoing, the-manner of. operating the. device and its. construction. will be readily apparent as Welles-the advantages arising there- Theiblade 64, is: of 'a larger-size, in order from, and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications Will readily occur to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the foregoing specification and attached drawings, itis not intended to limit the invention to: the exact construction shown and described, but all suitable modifications and improvements may be resorted to falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus disclosed and described the invention,.what isiclaimedas new is as follows:

1. A; vegetable and fruit eye remover comprising a rigid body having a bifurcated end, a shaft journaled transversely on the furcations of said body,scutter blades on the ends of said shaft, a

gear on said shaft, a rack slidably guided for rectilinear reciprocation in said body and engaging said gear, a segmental gear journaled in said bodytfor reciprocating said rack and an operating handle on said segmental gear.

2. The-combination of claim 1, wherein said body consists of a pair of complementary casing members joined upon a plane, saidv rack being housed in one of said casing members.

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein said gear is journaled in the other casing member.

4. The combination of claim 3, wherein said segmental gear is housed in said other. casing member.

5. They combination of claim 1, wherein said body has a. stationary handle extending therefrom and a spring biasing said. stationary and operating handles apart.

JOHN T. WHITE.

The following references of in the file of this patent:

UNITED STA'IES PATENTS 

